The Color Spectrum

The Color Spectrum is the name of both the fourth studio album by American progressive rock band The Dear Hunter, and a series of nine EPs by the band, each of which reflects an individual color of the visible color spectrum (namely Black, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet, White). This project was envisioned by frontman Casey Crescenzo as a way to interpret the colors of the spectrum via music. It is their first album that is not part of a common storyline with the rest of their work.

The Color Spectrum was released on June 14, 2011, in two different versions: the "standard" edition, featuring selected songs from the project, and the "Complete Collection" edition, featuring all nine EPs.

Background and recording
Brendan Brown (formerly in The Receiving End of Sirens with Casey) played bass guitar on the Orange EP. Jessy Ribordy (Falling Up) played mandolin on the Green EP. Naive Thieves helped with songs on the Yellow and Blue EPs. Andy Hull (Manchester Orchestra) provided vocals on tracks 1–3 on the Red EP. Tanner Merritt (O'Brother) sang on "A Curse Of Cynicism". Mike Watts co produced the White and Violet EPs

On April 7, 2011, Crescenzo announced via Twitter that The Color Spectrum was finished.

Promotion and release
On April 14, 2011, the band released a free MP3 download of "Deny It All" from the Red EP on their website. On April 26, Alternative Press debuted a lyric video for "This Body" from the Black EP, created by Crescenzo.

Concept
The Color Spectrum's influence is the subjectivity of perception and to a lesser extent the freedom it affords its viewer. Crescenzo remarks:

"Anything we think of, we can do. Humanity's idea of colors is too broad. This needs to be more personal, because ideas of colors vary from person to person. Even for people who have synesthesia, the specific images or sounds they hear attached to colors vary from person to person. And that just reinforces the point of doing the project, to produce our interpretation of color, the way we feel about colors or are inspired by the colors – how we hear them or see them."